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Category: Local

News From the Oil Patch, Jan. 15

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By JOHN P. TRETBAR

Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson dropped a dollar Friday, and will start the week at $41.75 per barrel. That’s $3.50 more than a week ago, but is a dollar lower than the price a month ago and nearly $13 less than a year ago.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline went up last week for the first time since October. The automotive club AAA reported Monday’s average of $2.24 is up a penny on the week, but is 15 cents lower than a month ago and is down 28 cents year-on-year. The average across Kansas was up three tenths to $1.965. It’s down to $1.94 at several locations in Hays, and as cheap as $1.92 in Great Bend.

Energy activity declined in our area during the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Energy Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The KC Fed interviewed executives across the district which includes Kansas and Oklahoma about their current activity and economic outlook. This marks the first time in nearly three years they’ve noted a quarterly decline in their “drilling and business activity index.” More than half of the executives said lower oil prices caused them to slightly or significantly reduce their capital spending plans in the year ahead. About 35% said they would not reduce capital spending or that it was too soon to tell.

Baker Hughes reported a drop of four oil-drilling rigs last week, and an increase of four rigs actively seeking natural gas. Oklahoma was down four rigs, while Texas and Louisiana were each down two. Canada reported a season increase of 104 rigs to 184 for the week.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reports nine active drilling rigs east of Wichita last week, down one, and 28 in Western Kansas, up one. They’re preparing to spud a new well in Ellis County. Drilling is underway at one lease in Barton County and one in Stafford County.

Independent reports 28 new well completions for the week, 12 in eastern Kansas and 16 west of Wichita. There was one dry hole completed in Barton County and one completed well in Ellis County producing pay dirt.

Operators filed 16 new drilling permits last week, 22 so far this year. There are seven new permits in eastern Kansas and nine west of Wichita, including one in Ellis County and one in Stafford County.

The State of Colorado is holding out for drilling-pad limits in an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in northwestern Colorado that includes migration corridors and winter-range habitats for big game. Most of an earlier sale by the Bureau of Land Management was deferred, after the governor raised wildlife and other concerns. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has written that the acreage up for sale this March be limited to just one drilling pad per square mile.

Canada’s CBC reports a spike in bankruptcy and similar insolvency filings in Alberta, a trend blamed on low Canadian oil prices. In the past year, nearly 11,000 more Albertans filed, up 8.4 per cent over a spike the year before.

Based on weekly tallies from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, domestic producers pumped more crude oil last week than ever before, 11.705 million barrels per day, beating the previous high by 20-thousand barrels per day. Based on the weekly reports, the U.S. produced a cumulative daily average of 10.85 million barrels of crude oil per day last year, which would be a record. That’s about 1.5 million barrels per day more than the same figure from the year before.

Amelia Earhart program set for Jan. 27 in Quinter

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Submitted
QUINTER — The search for Amelia Earhart can finally be called off! The famed Kansas aviator will be talking about her thrilling flights at 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 27 at Quinter High School Auditorium in celebration of Kansas history. Scholar and performer, Ann Birney of Ride into History, will take the audience back to 1937, just before Earhart’s disappearance over the Pacific Ocean.

Sponsored by the Western Plains Arts Association, admission is by WPAA season ticket or $10 adults or $5 students.

Birney will give a show for Quinter area students Monday, Jan. 28, as part of the school district’s Kansas Day week celebration.

This Western Plains Arts Association project is supported in part by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Locally, the Dane Hansen Foundation, Logan, Kansas, is also a major contributor for this season’s programs.

Most people do not know that Earhart set out twice to fly around the world at the equator before she disappeared. The first time, heading west from California, she wrecked her twin-engine Lockheed Electra taking off from Hawaii. Birney, as Earhart, will take the audience to April 14, 1937. Earhart is waiting for her airplane, her silver “flying laboratory” to be repaired so that she can try again. This time, she tells the audience, she will go east instead of west, hoping to reverse her luck with the reversal in direction.

Earhart came into the public eye when she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air in 1928. The young social worker presumed that after the flight she would resume working with children at a Boston settlement house, but one book and innumerable speaking engagements later, she was instead planning more record-setting flights, and yet more speaking tours, books and articles. Among her other records, she became the first woman and second person to solo across the Atlantic, the first person to solo over the Pacific, the first person to fly from Hawaii to California and the fastest woman to fly non-stop across the U.S.

Birney is a member of Ride into History, a historical performance touring troupe, that has performed throughout the U.S., from the Smithsonian to Saipan. Made up of scholars who are also scriptwriters and performers, Ride into History is one of few “cross-over” groups whose members have been on both humanities councils and arts commission rosters. In addition to their performances, which include six other first person narratives, the troupe conducts adult workshops, school residencies and summer camps, guiding other people in becoming historians, researchers, scriptwriters and/or actors.

Her interpretation of Amelia Earhart is based on extensive research. She holds a doctorate in American Studies from the University of Kansas and, like Earhart, is a native Kansan. Birney has been doing her Chautauqua-style performances of Amelia Earhart since 1995. In March of 2000, she became the first person to do a historical performance for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where she was described as “what living history should be—accurate, natural, evocative, and accessible.” Barbara Aliprantis of the American Center for the Theatre and Storytelling said of another of Birney’s performances, “Your telling of Amelia’s story was nothing less than brilliant. I was transported to another time and place.” Audiences of all ages have praised Ride into History’s performances for being both “entertaining and intelligent.” Dramatist Jean-Ellen Jantzen wrote, “Their energetic first-person narrative style, combined with authentic costuming and properties, makes this an enjoyable offering for virtually all audiences.”

David Downing of the NASA Kansas Space Grant Consortium wrote of Birney’s after-lunch performance for the National Conference of Space Grant Consortium Directors: “I think you understand that this was a tough audience. Many of us have been everywhere more than once and have seen everything more than once. This was a group, many of whom routinely carry on conversations when the NASA brass are presenting. You on the other hand had their undivided attention.”

Two of the historic figures Ride into History interprets, Amelia Earhart and Calamity Jane, are integral to the myth of American individualism. According to the scholar/performers, one of the most fascinating things is discovering the point at which an ordinary, lively, independent girl becomes the woman who makes a choice which leads her to become an American symbol, a mythic figure. They ask, “What do these people have in common with each of us?”

— Submitted

HAWVER: Action set to begin in Kansas Legislature

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Martin Hawver

By this time the new legislators have adjusted their chairs on the House and Senate floors and are presumably ready for business.

Which means, well, we’ll see when business starts. Could be a couple weeks, by which time lawmakers have met each other, learned about their families and pets, or whether the dramatically fast—Thursday—release of Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget for the upcoming year or two lights the fuse.

The weeks since Kelly has been governor-elect have yielded what most would consider relatively pro forma assertions that Kelly is going to “repair” the policies of the past eight years led by Gov. Sam Brownback and then Gov. Jeff Colyer. And mostly conservative Republican leadership responses have been that nearly everything Kelly wants to do costs money and threatens the budget—and possibilities of tax cuts.

***

Luckily for the governor and Legislature, there appears to be no dramatic catastrophe that requires first-week action by state government, no bridge collapse, no wildfire, no flooding. But the less-headlined issues ranging from care for children to school funding and health care for the poor are looming and will require administration/legislative action this session. Defining the problems will be the key to solutions, and those definitions and their costs are going to be the major issues for the session.

By week’s end, the dissection of Kelly’s budget will have started in both chambers, with her new Cabinet expected to have its input and changes to recommend. And, some issues, such as care for jeopardized children, don’t appear to have simple solutions because of the complexity of the agencies designed to protect them.

***

Much of what happens in this first dance will be under-the-covers, not generally reported and practically more complicated than most Kansans who have jobs to perform and families and children to provide for will notice. But those complex internal issues will impact just how the state provides for us.

For example, the House will this week adopt rules for the upcoming two years.

Rules? That’s a big deal? Sure, there’s no smoking or drinking in the House chamber, and you must be polite and not interfere with democracy. Behave.

But there are provisions—like whether sponsors of bills have to be named, or whether bills can be introduced by a committee, or whether committees will keep track of votes on amendments and such—that aren’t in writing and may or may not be.

Then there’s the big rule dealing with bills that make appropriations, and how they can be amended during floor debate. Now, if a House member wants to spend more money on something than the House Appropriations Committee approved, that member must propose cuts somewhere in the bill to keep its price tag at committee-approved levels…if the state’s general fund ending balance for the year is less than 7.5%.

We’ll see how that works out, and while it is not likely to spark dinner-table discussions in most homes in Kansas—we hope—it is a major decision that will influence deciding how to spend your tax money, and on what.

***

So, we probably have a couple or three weeks of debate ahead, generally not committed to legislation, about just where the state is going to head for the first year or two of the Kelly/Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers administration, and just how cooperative or combative the Legislature is going to be.

A couple House floor votes on Kelly-sought bills and we will have an idea about how state government is going to work for us.

Because, recall, state government works for us…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com

Foggy start, sunny Tuesday afternoon

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Tuesday Areas of fog before 10am. Areas of freezing fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 42. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.

Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. West southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north after midnight.

Wednesday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. North northeast wind around 6 mph becoming east in the afternoon.

Wednesday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 23. East wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west northwest after midnight.

ThursdaySunny, with a high near 43.

Thursday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 26.

FridayA slight chance of snow before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow between 11am and 2pm, then a chance of snow after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Hays USD 489 sells Washington to low-income housing developer

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By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

At its meeting Monday, the Hays USD 489 school board approved the sale of the former Washington school to Overland Park Group for $500,000.

OPG hopes to renovate the building into low-income apartments.

The district has purchased the Oak Park Medical Complex on 13th Street and is remodeling it for use by Early Childhood Connections, which is currently in the Washington building at 305 Main.

OPG is the owner of the Stonepost Apartments in Hays. Matt Gillam, OPG vice president of development, said his company has been looking at Hays for further low-income housing development for some time. Stonepost currently has a waiting list of 80 people.

The contract with OPG stipulates only $5,000 down for the property and a 365-day window in which to close. The contract is also contingent on the company being able to secure low-income housing tax credits for the property.

OPG will also be applying for historical status for the former school, which was built in 1926.  The company hopes to receive additional historic preservation funding.

The property sits in a Neighborhood Revitalization District as well. It would go back on the tax roles, but it would qualify for a rebate on taxes for the increase in the value of the property for 10 years.

The district will be able to continue to use the building until the contract is finalized.

Application for 2019 low-income tax credits is in February, so Gillam said he needed to know from the board Monday if the contract was going to be approved.

Board member Lance Bickle said he thought the sale might be a good idea, but he was concerned about the short time frame in which to make a decision.

Board member Mike Walker echoed these concerns.

“I have a concern about the time frame, and I wish down payment was more than $5,000, but I am in favor of the project. I think you did a good of presenting it, and you have a good track record,” Walker said.

Board member Paul Adams was also concerned about the small down payment and potential delay in closing the contract. However, he said he appreciated OPG was going to preserve the historic nature of the building and acknowledged additional affordable housing was needed in the community.

Sophia Rose Young pointed to a report earlier in the evening that indicated about a third of students at Wilson Elementary received free and reduced-cost lunches. She said low-income housing would serve the district’s student population.

Turn-Key Properties also made an offer to purchase the property with the hopes of turning the former school into apartments. However, their offer was $200,000. No one from Turn-Key was present at the meeting Monday night.

The board approve the contract on a split vote, 5-1-1 with Bickle voting against and Greg Schwartz abstaining.

2 dead after crash with a semi driven by NW Kansas man

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MEADE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just after 10:30a.m. Monday in Meade County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Toyota Siena driven by Dana W. House, 73, Goodyear, AZ., was westbound in the outside lane on U.S. 54 just east of the Kansas 23 Junction in Meade.

The vehicle crossed into the inside lane and then into the inside eastbound lane and collided with a 2016 Peterbilt semi driven by Ben E. Kelley, 44, Grainfield.

House was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger Cynthia J. House, 72, Goodyear, AZ., was transported to the hospital in Meade where she died.

Kelley was not injured. All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Hays school board to consider sale of Washington school

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board is set to vote on the sale of the former Washington School building at its meeting Monday night.

The district has purchased the Oak Park Medical Complex on 13th Street and is remodeling it for use by Early Childhood Connections, which is currently in the Washington building at 305 Main.

Overland Property Group Land Development has offered $500,000 to purchase the property. The company hopes to use the property to develop affordable housing.

The company also built Stonepost Apartments in Hays.

Matt Gillam, OPG vice president of development, told the school board in December the company would like to renovate the school, which opened in 1926, using federal low income housing tax credits administered by the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation.

If tax credits cannot be secured for the renovation, OPG will likely tear down the building.

OPG has developed other historical properties in the region. The company renovated the former Lee Hardware buildings into lofts in Salina and the Tabor Grand Hotel in Leadville, Colo.

The school district plans to complete the Oak Park Medical Complex renovations by June 30.

Best case scenario, construction would start at Washington school at the end of 2019 and into the first quarter of 2020, Gilliam said.

Computer study

The school district has completed a semester-long study on the use of Chromebooks. The study was requested by members of the school board.

Select classes at O’Loughlin, Hay Middle School and the Learning Center were involved in the study.

The schools used some software in the pilot study that would require additional fees if the Chromebooks were rolled out district-wide.

Teachers found having keyboards was an advantage, especially when the students were answering essay questions.

However, elementary teachers noted issues have occurred with annotating PDFs and having pages for notes, diagramming, graphic organizers and drawing pictures.

Middle school teachers provided some of the following feedback:

• Lack of world-facing camera complicated many learning goals.

• Using Office365 accounts was clunky, and added steps are frequent. Process is derailed due to constant prompting to integrate with Google Drive.

• Concern was expressed over the loss of instructional time due to device limitations.

Middle school students in the study were surveyed about the Chromebooks, and the majority said they preferred using the iPads. However, they liked having a keyboard for typing. They also said the Chromebook’s ability to access and submit files in Canvas was frustrating and time consuming.

The study concluded, “Many hurdles were encountered over the course of the semester. Several can be overcome, but at a large annual cost incurred by the district.”

Concern was also expressed about the number of professional hours that would be lost if the district converted to Chromebooks — 323 professional learning hours at an average of $40 per hour.

Fees

The school board will hear a report on summer school and driver’s education fees. Staff is recommending reducing driver’s education fees by $50 and keeping the summer school fees the same.

In other business, the board will:

• Vote on the 2017-18 audit report
• Vote on Hays High School curriculum changes
• Discuss the superintendent evaluation

HPD Activity Log Jan. 11-13

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The Hays Police Department responded to 3 animal calls and conducted 21 traffic stops Fri., Jan. 11, 2019, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Suspicious Person–100 block E 10th St, Hays; 2:01 AM
Towed Vehicle–1300 block Douglas Dr, Hays; 2:05 AM
Mental Health Call–2800 block Augusta Ln, Hays; 5:21 AM
Theft (general)–300 block W 48th St, Hays; 1/3 5 PM; 1/8 8 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–100 block E 18th St, Hays; 5:30 PM ; 12:37 PM
Criminal Trespass–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 1:05 PM
Found/Lost Property–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 3:10 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–300 block W 19th St, Hays; 3:27 PM
Drug Offenses–500 block E 7th St, Hays; 4:47 PM; 6:30 PM
Suspicious Person–1000 block Downing Ave, Hays; 5:08 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–300 block W 33rd St, Hays; 6:53 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 1 animal call and conducted 16 traffic stops Sat., Jan. 12, 2019, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Driving Under the Influence–200 block W 8th St, Hays; 2:02 AM
Suicidal Subject–2500 block Marjorie Dr, Hays; 2:10 AM; 2:18 AM
Parking Complaint–200 block E 32nd St, Hays; 8:13 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–600 block Ash St, Hays; 11:04 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 11:51 AM
Domestic Disturbance–2100 block E 21st St, Hays; 12:42 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 12/27/18 8 AM
Found/Lost Property–3300 block Vine St, Hays; 1 PM; 4 PM
Domestic Disturbance–3000 block Tam O’Shanter Dr, Hays; 7:28 PM
Criminal Threat–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 8:12 PM; 8:23 PM
Disturbance – Noise–300 block E 6th St, Hays; 11:45 PM; 11:51 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 5 animal calls and conducted 17 traffic stops Sun., Jan. 13, 2019, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Suspicious Person–900 block Main St, Hays; 12:05 AM; 12:07 AM
Disorderly Conduct–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:40 AM; 12:45 AM
Disorderly Conduct–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:15 AM; 1:33 AM
Driving Under the Influence–200 block W 9th St, Hays; 1:56 AM; 2:44 AM
Driving Under the Influence–500 block Main St, Hays; 2:07 AM
Animal At Large–500 block E 13th St, Hays; 10:41 AM
Dead Animal Call–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 12:01 PM
Credit Card Violations–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 2:27 PM; 2:28 PM
Suspicious Person–200 block W 11th St, Hays; 4:49 PM
Theft (general)–2900 block Vine St, Hays; 1:55 PM; 2 PM
Credit Card Violations–4200 block Vine St, Hays; 5:14 PM
Theft (general)–500 block W 32nd St, Hays; 5:25 PM
Drug Offenses–3700 block Vine St, Hays; 9:52 PM; 9:54 PM
Suspicious Activity–4500 block Larned Cir, Hays; 9:54 PM
Welfare Check–1700 block Volga Dr, Hays; 10:08 PM

Newly elected Ellis officials to be sworn in tonight

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ELLIS – It’s a new year and the Ellis city council will begin it by administering the oath of office to newly elected officials during their meeting Monday night.

Other routine reorganization items for the calendar year will also be addressed.

A report about the railroad museum Eagle Scout project is also scheduled.

The complete agenda follows.

 

AGENDA

January 14, 2019

REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS

City Hall – Council Meeting Room

 

ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)

ADMINISTER OATH OF OFFICE TO NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS

  • CONSENT AGENDA

PUBLIC COMMENTS 

(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes.  If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson.  ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment.  Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)

  • PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
  • SPECIAL ORDER
    1. Report on Railroad Museum Eagle Scout Project – Sam Pyle
  • UNFINISHED BUSINESS
  • NEW BUSINESS
    1. Election of Council President
    2. Designation of Official Newspapers and Depositories
    3. Consider Approval of 2019 Advertising Packages
    4. Consider Approval of Resolution Authorizing Use of Credit Card
  • REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
    1. Administrative
      • Public Works
      • Police
      • City Clerk
        • Review Annual Council Information Forms
        • Discuss Dates for Council Orientation
      • Attorney
      • Mayor Update and Announcements

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

  • ADJOURNMENT

Hays Eagles Baseball raffling tickets to Chiefs playoff game

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Hays Eagles Baseball is raffling off tickets to the Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship game this weekend.

Tickets are $100. One winner will receive four tickets and a parking pass for the game.

The drawing will take place Thursday at 8 p.m., and the winner will be announced via Facebook Live on the group’s Facebook page.

For information on purchasing a chance to win, call (785) 656-1539 or email [email protected].

First college insurance certificate recipients recognized; FHSU participating

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KID

TOPEKA — Two 2018 college graduates from Washburn University and Emporia State University are their schools’ first recipients of the Kansas Insurance Certificate, sponsored by the Kansas Insurance Education Foundation (KIEF), the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Insurance Department.

Ariel Jones, who graduated from Washburn University, and Callie Zirkle, an Emporia State University graduate, received the certificates January 10 at a ceremony hosted by Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance.

The Kansas Insurance Certificate program began in 2016 through a collaboration among KIEF, the insurance department, and several Kansas higher learning institutions. The certificate gives college students the opportunity to gain a broad understanding about insurance and show prospective insurance industry employers the students’ knowledge of general insurance coursework.

The 12-hour certificate program, if completed, is designed to advance career opportunities for the student in the financial services industry, including insurance. Students can take classes through several institutions.

For the fall 2018 semester, 550 students were enrolled in certificate-eligible courses at Washburn University, Fort Hays State University, the University of Kansas-Edwards Campus, Emporia State University, Pittsburg State University and Kansas State University.

Commissioner Selzer said the program allows the participating schools to offer the focus-area courses online or through traditional classroom instruction.  Students can take the courses they are most interested in, even if they originate at another school within the program.

“Getting the Kansas Insurance Certificate complemented my college degrees and became a distinctive touch on my academic resume,” said Ariel Jones.  “Meanwhile, this certificate presents additional career opportunities and increases networking possibilities with others in the financial services and insurance industries throughout the United States.”

“I am honored that I was able to receive the Kansas Insurance Certificate,” said Callie Zirkle.  “The certificate will be beneficial for my resume, along with opening up career opportunities.”

Each school also offers financial incentives for enrollment in the certificate-eligible courses. More about the program is available at www.ksinsurancecertificate.org.

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